AuthorTopic: The New Mark Lewisohn Books (Read 21031 times)

I too recently discovered this article through my research on the web. So I took the opportunity to add it to the page that I devoted to the book of Mark, on my blog. What is interesting is that Mark also discusses what he discovered about George Martin and how he finally signed the Beatles. Or rather, how he has been instructed to do so!

nimrod

Ok now Im at the bit where Paul (who isn't keen on Brian being theyre manager) revolts against things and decides he's not turning up for a gig, quite a prestigious one too, first of 3 at the University.Brian was fraught and they had to let the organisers down (very unprofessional)..Brian had been good enough to (that same night) pick Paul up, but Paul said he wasn't (nowhere near)ready (even though it was after 8pm the time arranged for pick up) and he, George & John would have to wait for him. They went to a pub, Paul dug his heels in and said he wasn't going to the gig, I don't think the others were very pleased with him.

Ok now Im at the bit where Paul (who isn't keen on Brian being their manager) revolts against things and decides he's not turning up for a gig, quite a prestigious one too, first of 3 at the University.Brian was fraught and they had to let the organisers down (very unprofessional)..Brian had been good enough to (that same night) pick Paul up, but Paul said he wasn't (nowhere near)ready (even though it was after 8pm the time arranged for pick up) and he, George & John would have to wait for him. They went to a pub, Paul dug his heels in and said he wasn't going to the gig, I don't think the others were very pleased with him.

I've just read this part too.

Once again Paul comes over as being difficult and hesitating. I wonder if this surfaced again in 1969 and 1970 when Paul didn't want to follow the others and go with Klein.

nimrod

I now want the extended version to read the whole thing again (and more)

The Beatles have been my main musical passion since I was 11 and thought Ive never thought much of previous books that have been written (and even poured scorn on them) I have to admit that Mark Lewisohn is THE man when it comes to The Beatles.He is on a different planet to the other celebrated authors.

The whole intricate story of how they came to be is here, the metamorphosis from hard nosed scruffy rockers to clean well dressed little girls boy band.....the angst of all that for Lennon the rebel, but the overriding desire for fame and fortune, its a great story, a fantastic story.

A great film maybe ? (a huge project in 3 parts).... maybe the McCartney children and grandchildren will end up richer than Paul

I now want the extended version to read the whole thing again (and more)

The Beatles have been my main musical passion since I was 11 and thought Ive never thought much of previous books that have been written (and even poured scorn on them) I have to admit that Mark Lewisohn is THE man when it comes to The Beatles.He is on a different planet to the other celebrated authors.

The whole intricate story of how they came to be is here, the metamorphosis from hard nosed scruffy rockers to clean well dressed little girls boy band.....the angst of all that for Lennon the rebel, but the overriding desire for fame and fortune, its a great story, a fantastic story.

A great film maybe ? (a huge project in 3 parts).... maybe the McCartney children and grandchildren will end up richer than Paul

Meanwhile, all hail Mark - another genius in the Beatle story.

I agree Nim. It was a terrific book and I was sad when it finished. Especially with the time expected til volume 2. And I think a comprehensive film/series would be terrific. Not only for the Beatles story but the wonderful detail on post-war Britain and society in that era. The soundtrack would be awesome as well.

I couldn't agree more! I'm just past their introduction to "Rock Around the Clock" but I'm already impressed with the amount of details and the way he weaves them together. What's touched me the most so far was the poem John wrote for Mimi when George died. I knew he displayed a lot writing talent early on but this amazed me.

After all these rave reviews, I am going to have to re-try mine. The book itself is just so huge and cumbersome, it was literally hard to hold to read. Even though I'm a die-hard print fan, I was seriously tempted to get an e-reader just for this first volume (and the subsequent ones). However, after seeing everyone's recent comments, I'm going to give it another go.

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nimrod

After all these rave reviews, I am going to have to re-try mine. The book itself is just so huge and cumbersome, it was literally hard to hold to read. Even though I'm a die-hard print fan, I was seriously tempted to get an e-reader just for this first volume (and the subsequent ones). However, after seeing everyone's recent comments, I'm going to give it another go.

That's true, I saw it at the bookstore, it was like a brick, I always intended getting the e version as I now prefer to read on my tablet, I like the fact that its backlit and I can adjust the size of font, the book seemed to have quite small print............ like downloading music, you have to get over the not having anything physical to hold for your money

After all these rave reviews, I am going to have to re-try mine. The book itself is just so huge and cumbersome, it was literally hard to hold to read. Even though I'm a die-hard print fan, I was seriously tempted to get an e-reader just for this first volume (and the subsequent ones). However, after seeing everyone's recent comments, I'm going to give it another go.

E-readers are great for massive tomes like this. I took the Lewisohn book on my kindle to the coast in January. It was so much simpler than dragging a large book around. You can also easily highlight spots you want to remember or quote.

I was also a bit daunted by the prospect of supporting this tome with my tiny hands but the contents quickly distracted me from that. (Putting the dust jacket away helped too.) I've really considered having a Kindle but I just can't get past what I'd be missing from a sensory standpoint. I love the feel of a book, turning the pages and even the way they smell....most of them anyway! And then there's the fact that e-readers are really putting the hurt on our little library. When we finish with our current automation project we'll be tied into Overdrive, which will allow our patrons to borrow e-books through us. That will help with our numbers but it's absolutely insane how much we'll have to pay per title. That's a huge problem for libraries right now, especially for ones like ours. I spend a lot of time at work researching this problem and pondering how our library can remain relevant in this new electronic reality.

I just read the passage that tells how The Beatles used to keep right on entertaining in the dark when a fuse would blow at the Cavern. It sounds like even that was great fun. Now when I think about flying back in time to the Cavern I'll hope for a blown fuse.